Storm in Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe Crusoe’s father wanted him to study law, but his mind was filled with “rambling thoughts” of going to the sea. His parents strongly opposed his idea. His father advised him not to set out on sea life for adventure or for riches. He said that if Crusoe did not pay heed to his advice he would soon find himself a most miserable fellow ever born. Crusoe resolved to follow his father’s advice and was calm for few days. But before long, he was again overcome by a desire to leave home and go to the sea. He stayed no more than a year when he made up his mind to quit.

One day Crusoe went to the seaport of Hull casually without any purpose. There he happened to meet one of his acquaintances who was going to London by his father’s ship. This friend offered him a free passage to London in the same ship. Inspired by his friend, Crusoe boarded the ship bound for London on the 1^st September 1651. No sooner had the ship sailed out of the harbor than a strong wind began to blow. For the first time, Crusoe faced the storm on the sea and so he felt indescribably sick both in body and mind which reminded him of his father’s warning. Immediately he took a vow that he would go directly home to his father and mother and never would think of venturing on a ship.

On the sixth day of Crusoe’s first voyage to London, the ship entered the waters of the Yarmouth harbor. The ship was compelled to drop anchor as the wind was against the purpose. The ship stayed there for seven or eight days waiting for a favorable wind. But on the eight day, in the morning, the wind developed into a storm. Soon the storm turned into a terrific tempest. The waves were raising mountain high and they broke upon the ship every three or four minutes. The ship was being so badly shaken that the sailors began to cry in fear. At midnight it was discovered that the ship had sprung a leak, and that the water in the hold of the ship was already four feet high. All the sailors were called to the pump. Everybody worked their best to save the ship from sinking. The severity of the exertion was so high that Crusoe fell into a swoon. As he recovered consciousness he found that the captain ordered his men to fire ship’s guns as a signal of distress seeking help. In response to the signal, a passing ship lowered one of its boats. As there was no hope of survival for the ship, all the sailors managed to get into the boat. A little later they found their ship sinking into the sea. Somehow Robinson Crusoe and his fellow sailors managed safely to land the shore near Winterton.

After two years of slavery, he succeeds to escape from his master and goes to Brazil where he establishes himself as a plantation owner. However, he was not satisfied with settled life. He finds that he leads the same life which his father has recommended to him. Once again he is overcome by a desire to wander abroad. It was an evil hour on the 1^st September 1659 when Crusoe boarded the ship in the company of other merchants. Incidentally it was the same unlucky date on which Crusoe launched into his first voyage from the port of Hull.

For twelve days Crusoe and his companions sailed fairly without any hazard. But when they crossed Ecuador, a violent storm began to blow driving their ship in a direction which they could not determine. For the next ten or twelve days they found themselves helpless in the face of the storm. In that distress one of their men died of a high fever, and one man and a boy-servant were washed overboard. On the twelfth day the weather improved somewhat, but on the next day the second storm came and the ship was carried away westward driving them out of the way of human commerce.

The ship had become leaky and very soon it struck against a sand bank and got stuck there. Then the sailors lowered a boat into the sea in order to get to the shore. Soon the boat was overwhelmed by a mountain like wave. The wave was so strong and furious that all men were washed away from the boat and perished in the sea with the exception of Crusoe who was carried ashore. Crusoe soon learns he is the only survivor of the expedition.

He was cast ashore on a deserted island for twenty-eight years. It helped him to be transformed from an unsure, immature, and disobedient son to a religious, experienced man with a strong faith in God and strong set of morals and values. He experienced a religious transformation. He was transformed from reckless and rush to steady. Crusoe realizes his fault and as a result he is forgiven by God. He is rescued by an English ship after a twenty-eight-year isolation on a desert island.